"Yankee Observations"

I've been in New York City exactly 2 months. That + the fact that I visited here before on several occasions has led me to some “Yankee” observations.

#1: People walk a lot in NYC. I mean they walk A LOT. Yes, there are lots of cabs, some buses and the subway trains (the locals just call “trains”) often are full yet the primary method of daily travel is walking. What I have noticed that the walking here pretty much exactly matches driving in California. The road way (sidewalks) are crowded most of the time, and some people go faster than others. The fast walkers change lanes constantly in an effort to get around the “slowpokes”. You give a quick glance over the left or right shoulder and then a quick move into the next lane and step on it to clear. You have to signal intentions to avoid head on collisions. Occasionally someone will come to a complete stop in front of you and if you have kept a respectful distance between you and them you can avoid a rear-ender. Some people are totally reckless or just don’t give a damn and are all over the place, pushing the envelope and causing near accidents all the time. You try to get away from them as soon as possible. I've been known to take a sharp, sudden left or right turn at a corner just to get away from the drunken walkers, the road rage walkers, the elderly weavers, or those that just seem lost.  Here walking should require a road test and license. It’s uncanny the parallels between walking here and driving in California.

#2 People are polite but not real friendly in NYC. When you are out and about you can “glance” at someone but you do NOT look at anyone. A longer look is viewed as aggression. You may admire their outfit or hair style but don’t get caught doing a double take or looking too long. People here stay to them (selves) and you are expected to stay to yourself. Often on my daily walks,  most people that pass me by do not look at me AT ALL. Most people here have determined expressions on their faces looking straight ahead. They have somewhere they want to be and they are only interested in getting there; they aren't “mall walking” and they aren't "people watching". Tourists ( lookie lous) are tolerated but not liked.  I can’t avoid overhearing phone conversations as I walk by (Manhattan people openly air their business) and what I am mostly overhearing is contentiousness in the calls like: “Who gives a shit what he wants, I’m not interested in what he wants” “I didn't get the job because that bitch told me I didn't have no social skills”.  These are angry, argumentative, deal-making, business driven, conversations. I NEVER hear: “tell Avery, grandma loves her”, “I’m so proud of you”, or “I can’t wait to see you”. Usually someone is pissed off or “working it”.

#3 Spanish is NOT the language I hear the most other than English. You’d think so with the number of Hispanics in this city. I do hear a lot of Spanish but what I hear the most is Russian or Slavic/Baltic languages. You know the “stans”. (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Iownastan etc.). That really surprised me. My building “super” is named Braho and he’s barely understandable. Patrick is the owner’s (of the building) representative and his Irish brogue is thicker than an Irish potato. He was the one that told me when I moved in that I could: “ga doun ta Toid avenue and sixty toid street n buoy yerself a hater, thot weigh ya won’t gat sa culd at naight”. This is a linguists paradise that’s for sure.

#4 Manhattan is many places, literally. Saying you live in Manhattan is like a person saying they live in San Diego. Rancho Bernardo is “San Diego” but so are Imperial Beach, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, and Lakeside. Yet all these places are distinctly different.  It’s the same with Manhattan.  Here are some areas:

Yorkville: This is where my son and his girlfriend and I live. It’s the Upper East Side between 70-85 streets and at the Far East end by York Avenue. Middle class and upper middle class live there. This is your Carlsbad type place.

Upper West Side: This is the wealthy and distinctly upper middle class. These are older people, rich and they have elevator buildings, doormen and Central Park or Hudson River views. This is the La Jolla part of New York)

East Village and Greenwich Village: Lower east side of Manhattan, from say Canal Street up to 34^th street. Bohemian artiste and trend setters live here. Lots of young people live here because it’s a “happening” place. There are lots of parties, night clubs, comedy stores, bars, art boutiques and so forth. It’s pretty costly to live here so lots of smaller studios or people partner up to afford it. On a Friday night in summer the streets are packed at 2 am. Think of a merger of Hillcrest and Ocean Beach.

Mid-Town: This is from around 34^th street up to 60^th street in the center of Manhattan. This is your tourist locale. The Empire State Building, Macy’s, Broadway shows on 42^nd street, Grand Central, Bloomingdales, Christie’s auction house, Madison Square Garden, Times Square are found here. More businesses than living spaces but the living spaces are pricey because you would be in a nice building high up. This is the Las Vegas Strip equivalent.

Other places like: Soho, Sutton, Murray Hill, Turtle Bay, Chelsea, Tribeca, Nolita  and my person favorite  Dumbo. Dumbo is found way down south near the Brooklyn Bridge and encompasses several blocks between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Why is this middle to lower middle class region called Dumbo? Because it stands for: “Down Under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Overpass”.

Another Thing: Be thankful for your Ralph’s, Albertson’s and Vons. There aren't any here and the grocery stores here are half their size, lack many options and are expensive. You can eat at home but you don’t get that many choices.

HOWEVER, there so many more places to go get something to eat.  My god the number of restaurants, bodega carts, deli’s, bagel shops, and diners is endless. I could find a new place to eat almost every day. The hardest part is finding your favorites. The food is excellent at almost every place. The prices are high but you pick and choose wisely. They serve huge portions here. I think it’s because so many people walk and burn a lot of calories. I average 3+ miles every day. People burn calories here, they really do. I am not kidding when I say 8.5 people out of every 10 you see walking the streets are very fit.

#5 Iconography: There is a reason so many movies and TV shows are filmed in Manhattan. It’s one scenic, iconic location after another. It’s not just the famous places like Trump Tower, Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center, Chinatown, World Trade Center, Central Park, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. NO, there are classic diners like Neil’s Coffee Shop, Green Kitchen, and some beautiful churches like The Church of the Heavenly Rest. It’s Jackie Onassis Reservoir, Strawberry Fields, Strand Bookstore, Flat Iron Building, the East River Walkway, and I could make a list of a hundred more. There are poetry & book readings, more Broadway and off Broadway plays than a person could ever attend and shops and boutiques along Park and Madison Avenue, and at least 10 interesting and famous museums. You can never tire of the things to do here. This place literally has something going on all the time. As Sinatra crooned, “it’s the city that never sleeps”. And one more thing, it has the most famous sports team in American history the New York Yankees.